p and yet it is
clearly revealed in the Scriptures that the heavenlies, the sphere
above the earth and way beyond, is in the grasp of the evil tenants
which under the headship of Satan form mighty principalities and powers
and dominions. He himself as head reaches into heaven and has access
to the very throne itself. He is not only the god of this age and the
prince of this world, but also "The prince of the power in the air."
How mighty he is as such, what powers are at his disposal, how vast his
kingdom is, how numerous the fallen beings with him and how the demons
fill the air, no saint has ever fully realized, nor shall we ever
realize it, till the God of peace has Satan completely bruised under
our feet.

Think for a moment of what the Scriptures say. There is the first and
second chapter in the Book of Job. Some call it fiction. We call it
one of the greatest revelations of the Word of God. There is the
throne of God, and to that throne comes Satan as the accuser of the
brethren. The New Testament verifies that this is still the case, and
that at the present time this mighty being still accuses the saints of
God before the throne of righteousness. And that is one of the reasons
why the Lord Jesus Christ as our advocate appears in the presence of
God for us.

Again we read the words of a prophet. "I saw the Lord sitting on His
throne and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right and on
his left.... And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord
and said, I will persuade him (King Ahab). And the Lord said unto him,
Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth and I will be a lying spirit
in the mouth of all his prophets" (1 Kings xxii:19-23). And
furthermore here in the Epistle to Ephesians in the last chapter we
read of the warfare of the Christian believer, which is not with flesh
and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against the wicked spirits in the
heavenlies. This passage alone is sufficient evidence to show that the
heavenlies are up to the present time tenanted by wicked spirits. They
hold possession of the heavenlies and have control there. But Christ
has triumphed over Satan and his wicked spirits and has purchased that
heavenly possession. It belongs to Him and to His church, and when the
right time comes the redemption of that possession will take place and
the heavenlies will be cleared from these usurpers